There's only one major Japanese car manufacturer not represented in the United States, and that's little Daihatsu.

Focused solely on compact vehicles, they tried entering the US market in the late eighties (1988-1992), but were unsuccessful. The Charade was an unremarkable machine, although the Rocky SUV garnered some attention before the brand faded away. With the recent upsurge in the price of a gallon of the go-go juice, might not now be the time to re-enter the largest automobile market in the world?

If gas stays above the $3.00 mark, it just might be. With Toyota holding a 51.2% stake in Daihatsu could there be some future Scions based off Daihatsu models? Chances are nothing will happen, especially since it was recently announced that Daihatsu would be pulling out of Australia due to dismal sales, but I kinda miss little Daihatsu. They make some funky little cars, especially the Copen.